Basketball from a fan perspective
Right place,
right time plus talented
In this part of the nation we have plenty of
Wichita State basketball available to us.
I remember viewing several games and witnessing Fred VanVleet in
action. I remember thinking this guy is
good but never entertained the thought he would become so valuable to the
Raptors. Originally from Rockford
Illinois he was not highly touted in high school, most basketball offers were
from mid major schools such as Wichita State.
Point guard VanVleet’s game grew steadily while
at Wichita State however the NBA was likely out of the question. In 2016 VanVleet would go undrafted however
he managed to play for the Raptors 2016 Summer League team. From that point it was a matter of proving he
could play to earn a roster position, the team had 6 players for a single
position on the 15- man roster. The 6-foot
1-inch VanVleet beat out the others to earn that final roster spot. He has not always been a starter for the
first few years of his NBA career, but is in that role currently. Fred VanVleet the guy who was at the right place, right time plus talented.
I am making
the pick
As general manager, director of player
personnel and head coach I choose to make the Warriors pick at number two. James Wiseman is the choice by yours truly,
why Wiseman over someone else? As pointed out this is not a particularly strong
draft so why this name? The Warriors
could certainly use the scoring of Anthony Edwards, but it is not key. For once I agree with daddy LaVar Ball, he
claims son LaMelo is not a good fit for the Warriors.
Although the development for Wiseman might be somewhat
delayed, he is the real deal, at 7 foot 1- and 240-pounds he becomes the
rim-protector the Warriors need. There
is speed on his side that will enable him to keep up with Steph, Klay, and
other potential teammates. Wiseman’s offensive
game is limited but that is no major issue, when everyone is healthy the Warriors have an ample amount of firepower when everyone is healthy. Will the Warriors go this route is unknown, it certainly could not hurt.
Sixer
trouble
Prior to the start of the 2019-20 season many did
not pencil in the Sixers as Eastern Conference champs although the belief was,
they would be competitive. We had the
Raptors plus the Bucks as serious competition.
The season suspension in March, the Orlando Bubble plus the Ben Simmons
injury. Down 0-2 to the Celtics Friday
evening and holding a lead in the closing minutes the Sixers were unable to sustain
the lead to remain in contention.
The Sixers would lose the lead and the game due
to questionable shooting and defense, final score 102-94. The Sixers now find themselves in an 0-3 hole,
Joel Embiid had a particularly good game but took several questionable shots in
the waning minutes of the game. The
Sixers are certainly missing Simmons, but it appears there are additional
issues. Those closer than myself probably see Sixer issues I've failed to note, let us just say change is some form is required.
Six degrees of Kevin Love
Many of you are might be aware the fun activity
of connecting actor Kevin Bacon to several others. It is simply titled “Six degrees of Kevin
Bacon”, there might be six degrees of Cavs power forward Kevin Love. First, Kevin is the son of Stan a former NBA
player with the Baltimore Bullets, Lakers, and Spurs? Stan’s NBA career certainly was not at the
level of son only lasting five years but wait there is more.
Like all families there is another famous Love,
Stan has an older brother; he is the younger brother of Beach Boys member Mike
Love. One more “six degrees” connection although
he is not a relative. Kevin and the
Warriors Klay Thompson were Little League baseball teammates during their 5th
and 6th grade years. This Kevin Love six degrees might not actually be close to the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, it it quite interesting.
